


Conviction

by xanderdaqueer



Series: Aedexus: the Realm [3]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Adventure, Aedexus, Fantasy, Fantasy Realm, Original Characters - Freeform, Original Universe, Original fantasy realm, Realm of Aedexus, like i made a map and everything, this was for a creative writing class
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:35:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22686349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xanderdaqueer/pseuds/xanderdaqueer
Summary: Eosrar is on a hunt when he stumbles across someone in need of help...Segment is from a series of ongoing shorts involving my original characters in the land of Aedexus, the realm that I created for my creative writing class back in high school. Split into 3 chapters for convenience.
Series: Aedexus: the Realm [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1631941





	1. Downfall

**Author's Note:**

> This was the final of 3 separate works in my creative writing class. I plan to write more with these characters. There's also a whole document I have about the lore of Aedexus, another document on Eosrar's character traits, and a map of the planet of Aedexus. Aedexus is the term that involves all of the regions/lands/islands on the planet, though the regions have separate names.

The dew reflected the new rays of the sun and trembled with the fragrant breeze. Eosrar gazed upon the horizon and inhaled the fresh air with a satisfied smile. He’d been to the Rune Region many times before, but he was always surprised by its beauty. Here, the environment consisted of a variety of trees, some grasslands, and towns. Compared to the Shattered Domain, where droughts were frequent and the greenery rare even during rain season, this terrain held many secrets. 

Eosrar was on his way to the town of Nordale in pursuit of more adventuring work. His sister, Elisewa, had given him a tip to look for an elf named Galdrien. Elisewa was a bartender at the Lilting Bastard in the Shattered Domain and therefore had many resources to learn about new work and about the latest events. Galdrien, she had told Eosrar, was a pelt-collector and apparently was interested in a hunter. 

_ I hope he doesn’t want me to slay a griffin,  _ thought Eosrar as his horse trotted down the dirt path and headed into a forest. His coin pouch jingled at his side and Eosrar adjusted the belt while reminiscing about the last time he had attempted to take on one of the winged beasts. 

His drifting thoughts were cut short by a sharp cry. 

“Woah, Lucence,” Eosrar said as he slowed his horse, squinting at the figure further down the path. The cry came again. 

“ _ Help! _ ” 

Eosrar approached the person at a steady pace before he dismounted. At first glance, the robed dwarf didn’t seem to have any physically damage, but looked distressed.

“Are you alright?” Eosrar asked, reaching out a hand to help the dwarf stabilize themself. He heard a small noise off to his right and began to turn. 

“No, no… please, I need to get to Dunesvil before  _ they _ get to me,” rambled the other, eyes wide and darting this way and that as they leaned into Eosrar and brought his gaze back.

“Calm down, calm down. Who?” Eosrar prompted, eyebrows furrowed. Something didn’t seem right… “Lucence, go!” 

He’d only just managed to tell his horse to flee for safety before he felt the cold blade of a knife against his throat. 

“It’d be in your best interest to empty your pockets, boy,” came a steely voice from his right. 

Slowly, Eosrar raised his hands and watched as the robed dwarf’s expression morphed into a smirk and they pulled out a shiv. The man holding the knife guided him backwards until his back was against a tree, then circled in front of him. 

Eosrar’s finger twitched and he considered drawing his sword, but the knife pressed closer to his throat. “Don’t even think about it,” knife-man growled, leering into Eosrar’s face. He flinched as his arms were jerked behind him and tied around the tree tightly. 

_ Don’t fight it. Just let them take what they want and they’ll be gone. _ He was oddly calm for being well outnumbered by these violent-appearing thieves. The only things that stood out to him were little details: the way that his weapon belt clinked as it was undone and dropped to the ground, the coarse cloth wrapped around his eyes, the momentary panic as someone fingered the trinket from his late mother that he wore at all times.  _ Not that, anything but that… _ He managed to steady his breath when the ambushers noticed his coin pouch and took more interest in that. 

It didn’t take much time for them to loot the few items he had. His ears tingled with the sound of the dirt crunching as the group left quickly and without much noise. Eosrar let himself relax only when he was certain that the group was gone. His belt now sufficiently lighter, he reached his mind into magic and focused on sparking some controlled embers from between his fingers.


	2. Threatened

Eosrar was back on the dusty road; two nights had passed since he’d burned himself loose of the ropes. Later that day, he had sought out Galdrien in the town of Holmsfirth to hear his proposition. Luckily, it  _ wasn’t _ a griffin that he was hunting this time: it was an illusive ghostlike creature known as a ghynx. The body of the ghynx was that of a feline with wings sprouted from the shoulders. Eosrar had never encountered a ghynx before, though it was important to note that he had only been adventuring for 3 months now. 

Lucence slowed as Eosrar entered the town of Nordale, a town to the south of Holmsfirth and built off farming and small markets. He’d bought his boots from a halfling named Darmak there within the first week of setting out. Now that he needed a new coin pouch, Eosrar figured that he would stop by Nordale on the way to the ghynx.

Eosrar frowned, hearing a shout that was clearly in the lilting accent of Darmak. The setting sun cast an orange glow on the dust as it spiraled into the cooling air, set off by Eosrar’s quick dismount. 

“Get off of me, you bastards!” Darmak growled through clenched teeth. “You think you can rob me? You’re sorely mistaken!” 

“Darmak!” Eosrar called out, hand on his sword while he calmly took in the scene. “What seems to be the problem, here?”

The thieves paused and turned to size up the newcomer. There were two of them (much easier to take on than the bigger group he’d been ambushed by earlier). Their faces were masked with a dark strip of cloth and they were holding several pieces of Darmak’s jewelry. One of them stood from where they had Darmak on the ground and approached Eosrar while the merchant struggled against the other thinner thief. 

“Stay out of this,” the bigger thief warned Eosrar, whose eyes narrowed in response. 

The other man’s hair was tousled and gray and he sounded older. What would drive someone like him to robbery? Typically the thieves that he had encountered were younger adults and even older teens, struggling for money and food.  _ No time to think _ , Eosrar snapped to himself as the thinner thief landed a punch against the struggling halfling. He drew his sword quickly before the gray-haired one could fight back. 

“Leave here, now. I do not wish to get your blood on my hands, but I will if necessary,” Eosrar commanded solemnly. 

He couldn’t help but to remember the crinkle of Darmak’s eyes as he had bid him farewell the last time he’d stopped by. There were good people in Aedexus, people like Darmak. There were many more out there, too, if he gave them a chance. There were good people, and then there were those that were driven to crimes like these two. 

Meanwhile, the gray-haired thief’s eyes were flickering with uncertainty and he took a moment to consider his next move as Eosrar’s sword pressed up to his neck. Deciding it wasn’t worth the effort, he signaled to the thinner one to let Darmak go and the two backed away. 

“Leave the jewelry,” Eosrar chided, watching Darmak regain his breath and press at his already bruising jaw. 

Though their mouths were covered with the cloth, Eosrar could practically see how their lips turned upwards in frustration as they chucked the jewelry back towards Darmak before scuttling off. Eosrar sheathed his sword with a heavy sigh. He ran one hand through his hair and offered the other to Darmak. Darmak gladly accepted the hand as he hauled himself up from the ground. 

“Thanks for that. Eosrar, right?” At Eosrar’s nod, Darmak smiled. “How’re those boots treatin’ you?”

“Well, thank you! They’ve stood up to a right number of conditions.” 

Darmak let out a chuckle, picking up the fallen jewelry. “Already encountered trouble, and you’ve only been out of the nest for a couple months. Fancy that.”

“Aye,” Eosrar shrugged. “Part of the job. Speaking of trouble, though…”

“Oh, what happened?” came Darmak’s interruption. “Meet a lass? Came to ol’ Darmak for some advice?” He grinned cheekily. 

Eosrar scoffed, shaking his head. “Lasses don’t quite do it for me, I’m afraid.” Before Darmak could respond, he continued: “No, I was ambushed a couple days back and they robbed my coin pouch. I was wondering if you had any pouches that I might purchase.”

“Poor lad, what a coincidence too that you happened upon me as  _ I _ was getting robbed. Of course I have pouches, a lovely selection of fabrics too if I may add.” Darmak beckoned Eosrar to the far end of his table where his options lay. 

“I appreciate it,” Eosrar smiled down at Darmak as he thumbed at the stitching of a leather pouch. “How much?”

“Just take it, boy. You’ve had enough trouble.” Darmak waved his hand mindlessly as he pulled out a polishing cloth from under the table. 

Eosrar’s eyebrows raised. “Really?” At Darmak’s nod, he smiled. “Thank you.”

“Don’t bother with thanks, consider it a repayment of your assistance with those hooligans. I’m not getting any younger, despite how I may seem. They had me outnumbered and overpowered.”

“I’m sure you would have made it through without me,” Eosrar said. Darmak had quite the fighting spirit. 

“You’re too kind.” The halfling gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Keep your friends close, lad.”

“And my enemies closer?”

“That’s the spirit!”

The two exchanged a laugh, and then Eosrar was on his way once more with the moon by his side. 


	3. Redemption for Humanity

_ Time to go back north _ , thought Eosrar as he finished tying the ghynx’s head to Lucence’s saddle. He’d taken a few days to get here, primarily to avoid spooking the ghynx involuntarily by galavanting into the hunting spot without any care in the world. Slow and steady, he had taken a more stealthy tracking strategy. Now that he had his prey, he could push Lucence to gallop most of the way back and it would only take about a day. Turns out, the ghynx’s ghost-like appearance was contributed to their fur and the way they moved. Galdrien had only asked for the head of the ghynx, but Eosrar had also harvested the pelt and meat from it as well. Perhaps they’d fetch a good price and help to fill up his still-barren new coin pouch. 

Eosrar had just gotten Lucence to a gallop when a figure stumbled out of the tall grass and prompted him to stop. 

“Please, sir, help me…” the elf babbled while clutching at his arm. His hair was matted with sweat and blood trickled from his nose, staining his teeth with a layer of scarlet. 

Eosrar made to dismount but hesitated as the memory of only a few days ago abruptly surfaced to his mind. Eyes alert, he surveyed the area. It wasn’t nearly as closed off as the forest: the grassland was littered only with some shrubbery. He could take people in a fight here if needed. As he hit the ground, he briefly brushed against the saddle bag for assurance that his coin pouch was secured and hidden. 

“What happened?” He asked as he assisted the elf in sitting down. 

“Terresnake… out of nowhere as I was stalking a rabbit… bit me…” came the response. 

_ Thank the gods it’s not anything worse, _ thought Eosrar as he exposed the wound. Terresnake bites were easily treated when responding to them early. Just suck out the venom, bandage it up, and the victim would be fine. Though he hadn’t been out for very long in the adventuring world, Eosrar had already had to deal with several bites from the territorial serpents. 

“There you are,” he said as he finished wrapping a strip of cloth around the elf’s arm. “Get some rest and change the bandage every day.”

“Thank you so much, sir. Please, if there’s anything I can do…”

“What would please me most is if you took care of yourself,” chuckled Eosrar as he helped the other to his feet. “Don’t worry about it.” 

“Thank you,” the stunned elf said with a smile. “Gods preserve you, sir. I’ll be more careful next time.”

Eosrar returned the grin and gave a short wave before he mounted his horse. The anxiety that he had felt coiling in his chest with the initial encounter of the elf started to unwind. He had the situation in control. His money was safe, he had helped someone, and he would get a fair bit of coin for that ghynx head once he got back to Galdrien. The sun was high in the sky as Eosrar coaxed Lucence into a gallop once more, eager to see where today would take him. 

**Author's Note:**

> Basically the first two were made up of Eosrar shopping at Darmak's market and getting into a brawl with a sassy Satyr named Rydel, and the second one was Eosrar and his boyfriend Adolowens just being pure and chilling in the sun.


End file.
